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26th September 2018
04:48pm BST

“Look, I’ve never met him but he seems a fantastic guy and an unbelievable rugby player at this stage. "He’s almost getting man of the match every single time he plays and it’s not only his breakdown steals it his all-round abilities, and I’m very glad we’re getting him."Beirne has three turnovers in three games already this season, which is not surprising given the fact that he set a PRO14 record last season (since 2010/11) with 39 turnovers for the Scarlets, but it's a great factor to have in the second-row given just how good at poaching Peter O'Mahony and Chris Cloete are on the flanks for Munster.
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In the pre-season van Graan praised Beirne for his poaching, his varied skillset and his footwork, attributes that were noticeable to him from the training sessions in Limerick.
"He is a multi-skilled rugby player," the South African said of his new recruit. "I think the most impressive thing that I saw is his natural feel for the game. He just stepped into the first training session and he is one of those players that believes he can play wing or full-back as well, he will still be special. "His running of the lineout will be key to us, his poaching ability is well-documented, but the things I didn't know is his feet, his movement in contact. "Some examples, like the try he scored against Bath last year in the Champions Cup, hopefully he can reproduce some of that form. "We are very lucky to have him and very excited to have him now that he is going to play for Munster."Beirne's skills are clear to see but so is his effort, especially in a side that is getting played off the park. In the clip below we can see the Ireland second-row throw a pass in front of Jean Kleyn who is buried by Cardiff number eight Nick Williams off the ball. JJ Hanrahan shows great instincts to pick the ball up before it hits the ground but once again we can see Beirne recognise the break and sprint towards the ball carrier where he cleans out scrum-half Tomos Williams to secure possession.
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Beirne made 11 tackles and four of the tackles were made in a period of 45 seconds while Munster were trailing by 17 points with just under five minutes left to play.
It's a testament to Beirne's workrate, fitness and standards that he maintained such a high intensity when there was nothing left to play for other than pride.
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Munster conceded another try over a minute later after Williams caught replacement prop David Kilcoyne around the fringes of the ruck but Beirne can hold his head high after another very solid performance.
Johan van Graan has a lot to work on after early losses to Glasgow and Cardiff but at least in Beirne he will take solace in the fact that he has an excellent player with an even better attitude.Explore more on these topics: